Thus We Run
by Shaman Zel
Summary: AU-ish, L/Z as usu. R&R welcomed ^_^ it might be my best so far............
1. Default Chapter

Sadly, I glance at the remainder of the group lying by the fire. Today was the sixth harrowing day since we began our flight form the royal army, perhaps into the arms of another division. 

I fall back against the soft sand, directing my weary eyes towards the heavens, hoping to find solace there. As I lie here, gazing into the stars, my mind settles on a place called Zefilia, a country bereft of war, corruption, and poverty. A place where freedom and peace, love and trust, all flourish under the loving care of mother nature. 

I wish, I hope, no, I beg to some unknown force that someday I might live there, beyond the border that we are striving to attain. Perhaps in some later life, maybe soon. I would give anything to live there, free of the grief that haunts my soul. I could even live without the companionship of the friends that I've learned to love and trust: my new family. 

No, I correct myself, I could never live without my soul. I redirect my view to the petite girl of 16 lying curled up by the fire, her face a serene mask of sorrow, flaming tresses of hair falling delicately about her shoulders in waves, framing her angelic face, blazing a trail through my heart. It throbs with want, aches as I watch the object of my desires. I wish that I had the courage to tell her what she is to me. 

Swiftly, I turn myself away from this train of thought. If I confess, she would probably not speak to me, laugh or even leave the group. No, better to leave things as they are. 

My longing mind fills with an immense weariness which can only come after seeing countless children die, slaughtered by the hail of iron death that claims them from the hills. I think of how my inevitable death could affect Lina as I drift of to the comfort of a dreamless sleep. 


	2. Default Chapter

Another day, another chance. We start at the break of dawn, and our spirits lift after an hour of hard travel once we spot the border line, easily discernable from our vantage point on the crest of a particularly large sand dune, defined by scattered towns and refugee camps at the desert's edge. /Perhaps it is not so hopeless after all/ Our relief is short lived, as we encounter a small patrol comprised of ten men. They approach us cautiously, guns readied. My hood is on, hiding the distinctive pebbles from prying eyes. If they know who we are, they wouldn't hesitate to fire. Behind me, Lina mutters arcane phrases, hands and face hidden beneath the folds of off white robes. Gourry's hand reaches to the left side of his belt, clenching around a nearly invisible camouflaged hilt. Amelia confronts the men as she has the most innocent and young complexion of us all, and is the only one who will not be recognized.

"Who are you sirs? And what is it that you want from such poor, poor people as ourselves?" She inquires pitifully.

Somewhat abashed, the leader answers in a gruff tone. "We are the finest fighting forces under the mighty Dynast Grauscherra, uncontested defeater of that vile tyrant, that dog Phillionel." the commander accentuated the last remark by spitting upon the ground, "I demand identification or troops will be called in."

Her fists clench in barely suppressed rage. Amelia tightly replies, "We are the last magic users in Seyruun, and you will die for insulting my father."

"Fireball!" Lina exclaims, an enormous ball of flame obliterates five men. Before the others can react, Gourry and I draw our swords, dispatching the remaining five with cold malice. 


	3. Default Chapter

Gourry sheaths his sword into its camouflaged sheath, and I do the same with my blade. No sooner are we on are way again, than fire erupts to our left. A bullet winds its way into Amelia's chest, and another takes Gourry in his sword arm.

Lina and I pull Amelia and Gourry behind a formation of rocks and begin to heal them respectively. The volley continues mercilessly on, and I see explosions rock the landscape as grenades are pelted downward at us. It is only a matter of time before we are reached.

Lina stands up, eyes ablaze with fire. "I'm tired. Tired of running, like a coward, from... From those bastards that killed my parents. I'll bring them down to hell with me!"

Before we can say or do anything, she flies off. "Raywing" Amelia and I say and we are in hot pursuit.

Lina is to fast, and has distracted the enemy's attention such that nothing is shot at us.  
_"Heed me now thou who is darker than dusk.   
Heed thou which is more red than blood.   
In the name of that which has been buried  
In the bottomless abyss of time eternal,  
I summon thee, master of the ultimate darkness.   
Have no pity on the fools who stand in our way.  
Infuse me with power, let your strength become mine.  
To wipe them from the face of the earth,   
To deliver unto them the ultimate doom!!!  
**Dragon Slave!!!**"_

The released energy of Shabranigdo wreaks havoc upon the army division upon which it was loosed. Those still clinging to life on the outskirts of the previously great regiment are wiped out almost casually with a Zelas Bleed and Gaav Flare. Tanks fire shells madly before being silenced by a Blast Bomb. Missiles miss Lina narrowly due to confusion, but direct Lina's attention towards the fighter jets, which are sliced in half by a Ragna Blade. Blast Ashes and a Dolph Zork destroy battalions of the naval fleet, clustered at a harbor half a mile away. A Dynast Breath destroys the command squad, and a passing scout patrol is zapped by a Dynast Brass.

Lina is not unscathed though, bleeding profusely. I can only watch in horror as she plummets 80 feet.

*If you're wondering why Lina didn't do this beforehand, well, she's been saving up, and plus, it was that time of the month. 


	4. Default Chapter

I tax my body to its physical limit as I speed desperately towards her. Only inches above the ground od I catch her. Exhausted, I fly back to Amelia. I can hear her casting resurrection while I begin Recovery myself. Crystalline tears are falling unchecked from my almost closed eyes, I do not care to damn the flow.

/Why was I so slow?/ I wonder /My stone body could have offered some protection, at least form the bullets./ She is fading fast. Amelia sets up a medical station, her magical reserves are spent. She tends to Lina's wounds while I depart to the astral plane via a magic circle. After some search, I locate her power signature, but her life force is slipping slowly away, I can feel it ebb slowly from her presence. She is too weak to even project a visible entity. I call to her with my mind, but.. There is no answer, only silence.

Frantically, I confess, in hope that somehow this would give her the strength to go on. "Lina, please, don't go, I know I might have been cruel or harsh but... Lina! Please, for my sake, survive. Please, I love you, don't die! Lina!!!"

Her weak life force grows slightly, almost undetectably stronger. "Koiboto, Ai Shiteru, Shinu na! Ore no kokoro, tamashii!!!" A hand appears out of the darkness and I pull Lina out of the murkiness. "Thank God!"

"And I you, Zelgadis." she murmurs.

She... She does? /This is no time to elate, Zel/ I rush to her side, embrace her, cradle her in my arms**, sending all my strength, all my love, through our bond. It is too much after a while, and I collapse. 


	5. Default Chapter

We spend the next day nursing Lina back to health. Amelia does not seem jealous of Lina, nor Gourry of me. Our love is a ray of sunshine in a sea of darkness. Nobody mentions the loss of a day. Nobody mentions that the orihalcon tanks are drawing close. But we all know.

Lina, our unofficial leader, is weak, she can barely walk. I am weak as well, partly from worry. Amelia is exhausted from taxing her power in white magic. Only Gourry is fine. Perhaps tomorrow will bring better luck, and we prepare run anew, knowing that we have no defense power left of our own.

We know that when we die, so does our heritage, our powers, our stories are left untold. We are forgotten, and magic will cease to exist, both in physical being and in the minds of children. Death is not an option, but it is practically an inevitable eventuality. Our flight insures nothing, it only prolongs our life. We do not mislead ourselves with thoughts of life. 

We carry a great burden, to pass on what we have learned so that magic will continue to thrive in Zefilia. All the magic users were invited to attend a conference, those that refused... We know now that they were killed. The conference center was enclosed in orihalcon, nulling our powers. Only Gourry's sword saved us from certain death.

"Why don't we fly?" Amelia had once asked.

"We would be visible from all around, and killed in a matter of seconds." I answer.

"We could fly low," she suggests.

"In a desert? Do you not think that they have radar? Staying grounded makes us appear as naught but wildlife. Beside, the desert is littered with anti-air traps, which somehow sense airborne organisms, which are set upon by tracking missiles."

Amelia's naivete is annoying, but her earnest desire for justice, inflamed by the recent assassination of her father keeps our spirits up. She is quick to believe, gullible, a good counterbalance of my analytical pessimism. 


	6. Default Chapter

We awake at five, and eat our meager, cold fare. At dawn, we pack our bags. We begin to run /Running, always running/ Everyday we run form the royal army across the now barren landscape of Seyruun, torn apart by war and internal strife. Every day, we know that the orihalcon tanks draw nearer. No matter how little we sleep, or how hard we run, their tanks are always faster. Now, we have barely enough food for a week, our water has to be watched carefully and rationed out. As we near the crest of another sand dune I think I see a glint of metal.

I glance at Lina, who runs alongside me. Her eyes are shimmering gems of beauty. These ruby eyes capture mine, and I am lost in their depths. When she speaks, I devote my entire attention to her voice.

"Zel, did you see that dust cloud over that hill?"

"That's why I led us around, to avoid it." We round the crest, "... Or not, we avoided a decoy."

Three hundred yards away is a phalanx of royal tanks, bristling with orihalcon armor and twenty centimeter shock cannons, golden and glinting in the midday sun.

We dive behind a boulder, praying that we weren't seen. After about ten minutes, we break cover, dashing behind a second boulder. This time though, Gourry trips, and they are alerted to our presence. They do not know our location though, so we take full advantage of this. 

We continue this game of hide and seek. Zefilia is now only two hundred yards past the tanks, which are only fifty yards off. There is no more cover though, so we decide to sprint. We are not spotted until we are another fifty yards past them. They begin to fire, sand erupts at incredibly close proximity. Gourry is wounded by debris, and Lina and Amelia are blinded by the swirling sand. Lina does not see the gun turret aimed toward her fire. We are just thirty yards away. Time slows as I launch myself in its path. 

I am knocked to the ground, blood begins to flood from a gaping wound in my abdomen. I am dying, I can feel it, but I saved Lina. That is all that matters. I faintly hear her cry my name. I try to tell her not to let my sacrifice be in vain, but I cannot speak. /So close/ and all coalesces to black. 


End file.
